Greece, Part Four: Santorini with Busabout

It was towards the end of the tour, so of course a sickness
had begun to spread throughout the group like wildfire (seems to be a common occurrence
in travel groups). The morning that we were to depart to Santorini, we all woke
up with complaints of funny, sore throats. Despite the sickliness and the sleep
deprivation, the three hour ferry ride from Paros to Santorini wasn’t too bad.
Probably because by this time most of the group had bonded, so chatting and
gossiping helped pass the time.

Once arriving in Santorini, we made our way to our
accommodation, Blue Horizon. It was conveniently located down the road from
where most of the Busabout group were staying so no long treks to meet up with
them, like we had in Mykonos. Once again, despite booking the cheapest
accommodation we could find, we were spoilt with a huge room that included our
own bathroom and sitting area.

Oia, Santorini

We then finally got to explore the beautiful Santorini, we
did a walking tour and our tour guide pointed out a jewellery store where
Busabouters got a discount. A lot of the girls, including myself, couldn’t
resist a look and I ended up purchasing some sweet, delicate rose gold and
silver rings. A little piece of Santorini for me to wear back home.

The tour was followed by a lovely dinner at a restaurant
with a stunning view of infamous white and blue buildings nestled amongst the
cliffs. I took in the views, enhanced by the setting sun as I enjoyed my
delicious stuffed squid. After dinner a small group of us went on a baklava
hunt and then headed our separate ways, hoping an early night would mean a
miraculous recovery.

The next day, and our last day with this Busabout group, we
did Busabout’s Bucket List tour. The first stop of the tour was a monastery, Profitis
Ilias, which sits upon the highest point of Santorini. For those that had a
fear of heights, the drive up there was truly a free form of exposure therapy!
At the monastery gift shop (yup, gift shop), we were told the story behind the
33 knot bracelets they had for sale. The bracelets, which are also known as
prayer bracelets, are supposed to ward off evil and you must wear it without
removing it (to do so is bad luck). We were also informed that you cannot buy
it for yourself to wear, and that if you wanted one someone else would have to
buy it for you. A few members of the group who were ready to make a commitment
to wear it until it fell off (or until they didn’t believe in the story)
purchased them for each other.

Profitis Ilias

After the monastery we headed to Perissa Beach a.k.a black
beach. I had pictured black sand, but it’s actually volcanic pebbles. We
enjoyed two hours on this beach feeling like total V.I.Ps. Besides swimming, we also enjoyed taking in
the views and basking in the sun on the lounges, free as part of the Bucket
List tour. The lounges each had a little buzzer on them that would summon a
waiter. In addition to this, there was also free Wi-Fi. Needless to say, we
lapped up this decadence as we lay out, enjoying the free Wi-Fi
and ordering food and drinks straight to our lounges.

Feeling relaxed and spoilt, we then headed to Akrotiki, a
Minoan settlement that had been destroyed in a volcanic eruption and then
buried in ash. We were told that what we saw is believed to be only 5%
of the city and they have yet to discover any bodies. It was also explained to
us that a big thing in Greek culture is leaving something for the next generation
to discover, which is why they haven’t continued the excavation. I thought that
was such a lovely sentiment. It was pretty interesting to walk through the old
city and surprising to see what had survived after all this time and exposure.

Because the group had voted to go to Akrotiki, it meant we
only had a short time at the Red Beach. Literally, enough time to walk up,
observe and take a few pictures. But I did manage to fit in a sneaky swim, and
the water was so lovely and refreshing.

Quick happy snap at Red Beach

Next stop on the tour was Santo Winery for a wine tasting.
The winery sits on the edge of a cliff, so we sampled the different wines with
a backdrop of crystal blue water.

After the winery we were dropped back “home” to get ready
for part two of the Bucket List tour- the sunset picnic in Oia. On the drive up
to Oia, we passed Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Greek Island mansion, a cold looking
circular black house sitting in isolation.

When we arrived in Oia, I could quickly tell this was the
spot where all those pictures were taken that had tempted me to the Greek
Islands in the first place. Here we had the best views of the water and the
cliffs full of white and blue houses. We made our way to the picnic spot, which
was definitely not the isolated spot I had pictured. In fact, it was probably
the most popular viewing spot for the sunset, so quickly filled up. Picnic may
not have been the right word for it, but we did get Gyros delivered to us and
we enjoyed our dinner and drinks while we waited for probably one of the most
famous sunsets in the world. And it not disappoint (well aside from that fact
that we didn’t get to witness any proposals, which apparently is very common
place at an Oia sunset), and I got to recreate my own Greek Island postcard
style photos.

After the sunset, we headed back “home” and spent the night
dancing it up at the Highlander. A bit of an emotional night as we had to say
goodbye to the friends we had made that were continuing on with the Busabout
tour, while we stayed behind in Santorini a few more days.

It was such a fun, packed day and I’m really glad we did the
Bucket List tour. We were especially grateful as we soon discovered that
travelling through Santorini on our own was a real pain, but more on that in my
next post!

Oh wow - what a wonderful way to spend your days. I am insanely envious over here on the other side of the world, shivering behind by macbook in a turtleneck and clutching onto a steaming mug of coffee to keep warm!!